Daily scripture reading

Friday of the Second Week in AdventLectionary: 185

Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,the Holy One of Israel:I, the LORD, your God,teach you what is for your good,and lead you on the way you should go.If you would hearken to my commandments,your prosperity would be like a river,and your vindication like the waves of the sea;Your descendants would be like the sand,and those born of your stock like its grains,Their name never cut offor blotted out from my presence.

R. (see John 8:12) Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.Blessed the man who follows notthe counsel of the wickedNor walks in the way of sinners,nor sits in the company of the insolent,But delights in the law of the LORDand meditates on his law day and night.R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.He is like a treeplanted near running water,That yields its fruit in due season,and whose leaves never fade.Whatever he does, prospers.R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.Not so the wicked, not so;they are like chaff which the wind drives away.For the LORD watches over the way of the just,but the way of the wicked vanishes.R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.The Lord will come; go out to meet him!He is the prince of peace.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to the crowds:“To what shall I compare this generation?It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,‘He is possessed by a demon.’The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin MaryLectionary: 689

After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree,the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”He answered, “I heard you in the garden;but I was afraid, because I was naked,so I hid myself.”Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked?You have eaten, then,from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!”The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”The LORD God then asked the woman,“Why did you do such a thing?”The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”Then the LORD God said to the serpent:“Because you have done this, you shall be bannedfrom all the animalsand from all the wild creatures;on your belly shall you crawl,and dirt shall you eatall the days of your life.I will put enmity between you and the woman,and between your offspring and hers;he will strike at your head,while you strike at his heel.”The man called his wife Eve,because she became the mother of all the living.

R. (1) Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.Sing to the LORD a new song,for he has done wondrous deeds;His right hand has won victory for him,his holy arm.R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.The LORD has made his salvation known:in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulnesstoward the house of Israel.R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.All the ends of the earth have seenthe salvation by our God.Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;break into song; sing praise.R. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous deeds.

Brothers and sisters:Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,who has blessed us in Christwith every spiritual blessing in the heavens,as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,to be holy and without blemish before him.In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,in accord with the favor of his will,for the praise of the glory of his gracethat he granted us in the beloved.In him we were also chosen,destined in accord with the purpose of the Onewho accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,we who first hoped in Christ.

The angel Gabriel was sent from Godto a town of Galilee called Nazareth,to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,of the house of David,and the virgin’s name was Mary.And coming to her, he said,“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”But she was greatly troubled at what was saidand pondered what sort of greeting this might be.Then the angel said to her,“Do not be afraid, Mary,for you have found favor with God.Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,and you shall name him Jesus.He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”But Mary said to the angel,“How can this be,since I have no relations with a man?”And the angel said to her in reply,“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.Therefore the child to be bornwill be called holy, the Son of God.And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,has also conceived a son in her old age,and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;for nothing will be impossible for God.”Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.May it be done to me according to your word.”Then the angel departed from her.

Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the ChurchLectionary: 183

To whom can you liken me as an equal?says the Holy One.Lift up your eyes on highand see who has created these things:He leads out their army and numbers them,calling them all by name.By his great might and the strength of his powernot one of them is missing!Why, O Jacob, do you say,and declare, O Israel,“My way is hidden from the LORD,and my right is disregarded by my God”?Do you not knowor have you not heard?The LORD is the eternal God,creator of the ends of the earth.He does not faint nor grow weary,and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.He gives strength to the fainting;for the weak he makes vigor abound.Though young men faint and grow weary,and youths stagger and fall,They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,they will soar as with eagles’ wings;They will run and not grow weary,walk and not grow faint.

R. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul!Bless the LORD, O my soul;and all my being, bless his holy name.Bless the LORD, O my soul,and forget not all his benefits.R. O bless the Lord, my soul!He pardons all your iniquities,he heals all your ills.He redeems your life from destruction,he crowns you with kindness and compassion.R. O bless the Lord, my soul!Merciful and gracious is the LORD,slow to anger and abounding in kindness.Not according to our sins does he deal with us,nor does he requite us according to our crimes.R. O bless the Lord, my soul!

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;blessed are those prepared to meet him.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to the crowds:“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,for I am meek and humble of heart;and you will find rest for yourselves.For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

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Tuesday of the Second Week in AdventLectionary: 182

Comfort, give comfort to my people,says your God.Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to herthat her service is at an end,her guilt is expiated;Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORDdouble for all her sins.A voice cries out:In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!Every valley shall be filled in,every mountain and hill shall be made low;The rugged land shall be made a plain,the rough country, a broad valley.Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,and all people shall see it together;for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.A voice says, “Cry out!”I answer, “What shall I cry out?”“All flesh is grass,and all their glory like the flower of the field.The grass withers, the flower wilts,when the breath of the LORD blows upon it.So then, the people is the grass.Though the grass withers and the flower wilts,the word of our God stands forever.”Go up onto a high mountain,Zion, herald of glad tidings;Cry out at the top of your voice,Jerusalem, herald of good news!Fear not to cry outand say to the cities of Judah:Here is your God!Here comes with powerthe Lord GOD,who rules by his strong arm;Here is his reward with him,his recompense before him.Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;in his arms he gathers the lambs,Carrying them in his bosom,and leading the ewes with care.

R. (see Isaiah 40:10ab) The Lord our God comes with power.Sing to the LORD a new song;sing to the LORD, all you lands.Sing to the LORD; bless his name;announce his salvation, day after day.R. The Lord our God comes with power.Tell his glory among the nations;among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.Say among the nations: The LORD is king;he governs the peoples with equity.R. The Lord our God comes with power.Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;let the sea and what fills it resound;let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice.R. The Lord our God comes with power.They shall exult before the LORD, for he comes;for he comes to rule the earth.He shall rule the world with justiceand the peoples with his constancy.R. The Lord our God comes with power.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.The day of the Lord is near:Behold, he comes to save us.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:“What is your opinion?If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hillsand go in search of the stray?And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over itthan over the ninety-nine that did not stray.In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Fatherthat one of these little ones be lost.”

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Monday of the Second Week in AdventLectionary: 181

The desert and the parched land will exult;the steppe will rejoice and bloom.They will bloom with abundant flowers,and rejoice with joyful song.The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;They will see the glory of the LORD,the splendor of our God.Strengthen the hands that are feeble,make firm the knees that are weak,Say to those whose hearts are frightened:Be strong, fear not!Here is your God,he comes with vindication;With divine recompensehe comes to save you.Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,the ears of the deaf be cleared;Then will the lame leap like a stag,then the tongue of the mute will sing.Streams will burst forth in the desert,and rivers in the steppe.The burning sands will become pools,and the thirsty ground, springs of water;The abode where jackals lurkwill be a marsh for the reed and papyrus.A highway will be there,called the holy way;No one unclean may pass over it,nor fools go astray on it.No lion will be there,nor beast of prey go up to be met upon it.It is for those with a journey to make,and on it the redeemed will walk.Those whom the LORD has ransomed will returnand enter Zion singing,crowned with everlasting joy;They will meet with joy and gladness,sorrow and mourning will flee.

R. (Isaiah 35:4f) Our God will come to save us!I will hear what God proclaims;the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,glory dwelling in our land.R. Our God will come to save us!Kindness and truth shall meet;justice and peace shall kiss.Truth shall spring out of the earth,and justice shall look down from heaven.R. Our God will come to save us!The LORD himself will give his benefits;our land shall yield its increase.Justice shall walk before him,and salvation, along the way of his steps.R. Our God will come to save us!

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Behold the king will come, the Lord of the earth,and he himself will lift the yoke of our captivity.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

One day as Jesus was teaching,Pharisees and teachers of the law,who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,were sitting there,and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence.But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,they went up on the roofand lowered him on the stretcher through the tilesinto the middle in front of Jesus.When Jesus saw their faith, he said,“As for you, your sins are forgiven.”Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves,“Who is this who speaks blasphemies?Who but God alone can forgive sins?”Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply,“What are you thinking in your hearts?Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?But that you may knowthat the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–he said to the one who was paralyzed,“I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”He stood up immediately before them,picked up what he had been lying on,and went home, glorifying God.Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God,and, struck with awe, they said,“We have seen incredible things today.”

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Second Sunday of AdventLectionary: 4

On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,and from his roots a bud shall blossom.The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,a spirit of counsel and of strength,a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.Not by appearance shall he judge,nor by hearsay shall he decide,but he shall judge the poor with justice,and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.Justice shall be the band around his waist,and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;the calf and the young lion shall browse together,with a little child to guide them.The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,together their young shall rest;the lion shall eat hay like the ox.The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,as water covers the sea.On that day, the root of Jesse,set up as a signal for the nations,the Gentiles shall seek out,for his dwelling shall be glorious.

R. (cf. 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.O God, with your judgment endow the king,and with your justice, the king’s son;he shall govern your people with justiceand your afflicted ones with judgment.R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.Justice shall flower in his days,and profound peace, till the moon be no more.May he rule from sea to sea,and from the River to the ends of the earth.R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;the lives of the poor he shall save.R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.May his name be blessed forever;as long as the sun his name shall remain.In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

Brothers and sisters:Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction,that by endurance and by the encouragement of the Scriptureswe might have hope.May the God of endurance and encouragementgrant you to think in harmony with one another,in keeping with Christ Jesus,that with one accord you may with one voiceglorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you,for the glory of God.For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcisedto show God’s truthfulness,to confirm the promises to the patriarchs,but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.As it is written:Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentilesand sing praises to your name.

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judeaand saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:A voice of one crying out in the desert,Prepare the way of the Lord,make straight his paths.John wore clothing made of camel’s hairand had a leather belt around his waist.His food was locusts and wild honey.At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,and the whole region around the Jordanwere going out to himand were being baptized by him in the Jordan Riveras they acknowledged their sins.When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadduceescoming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.And do not presume to say to yourselves,‘We have Abraham as our father.’For I tell you,God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruitwill be cut down and thrown into the fire.I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.I am not worthy to carry his sandals.He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.His winnowing fan is in his hand.He will clear his threshing floorand gather his wheat into his barn,but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

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Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, PriestLectionary: 180

Thus says the Lord GOD,the Holy One of Israel:O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem,no more will you weep;He will be gracious to you when you cry out,as soon as he hears he will answer you.The Lord will give you the bread you needand the water for which you thirst.No longer will your Teacher hide himself,but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:“This is the way; walk in it,”when you would turn to the right or to the left.He will give rain for the seedthat you sow in the ground,And the wheat that the soil produceswill be rich and abundant.On that day your flock will be given pastureand the lamb will graze in spacious meadows;The oxen and the asses that till the groundwill eat silage tossed to themwith shovel and pitchfork.Upon every high mountain and lofty hillthere will be streams of running water.On the day of the great slaughter,when the towers fall,The light of the moon will be like that of the sunand the light of the sun will be seven times greaterlike the light of seven days.On the day the LORD binds up the wounds of his people,he will heal the bruises left by his blows.

R. (see Isaiah 30:18d) Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.Praise the LORD, for he is good;sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;it is fitting to praise him.The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;the dispersed of Israel he gathers.R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.He heals the brokenheartedand binds up their wounds.He tells the number of the stars;he calls each by name.R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.Great is our LORD and mighty in power:to his wisdom there is no limit.The LORD sustains the lowly;the wicked he casts to the ground.R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,teaching in their synagogues,proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,and curing every disease and illness.At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for thembecause they were troubled and abandoned,like sheep without a shepherd.Then he said to his disciples,“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;so ask the master of the harvestto send out laborers for his harvest.”Then he summoned his Twelve disciplesand gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them outand to cure every disease and every illness.Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,“Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’Cure the sick, raise the dead,cleanse lepers, drive out demons.Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”